defense secretary leon panetta said the u.s. is supporting the french effort with intelligence gathering assistance. and he didn't rule out american aircraft landing in mali to provide airlift and logistical support. for more, we're joined by j. peter pham of the africa center at the atlantic council in washington, d.c. and emeera woods, co-director of foreign policy in focus at the institute for policy studies. let's start with you. before we get to the french intervention, i want you to help people understand the context here a bit. what makes mali important and what has made it so volatile? >> well, ma'amy is a country on the west coast of africa that is really at the epicenter. it is on the sahara, the brink of the sahara and sub saharan africa. it is a country rich in resources from gold to uranium, vital minerals in mali. there are also explorations of oil, particularly in northern mali. so it is a country that is rich in resources, that has actually been really the center of a democratic process for quite some time. we ha